All: CBS artcile has small piece on recent software acquisition. IMO, Intel's transition outward to a network chip supplier will come sooner than most people think and will take many by surprise.
cbs.marketwatch.com
Hardware Stocks
Apple gain boosts hardware stocks
H-P rides increased price target to all-time high
By Janet Haney, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:17 PM ET Jul 8, 1999
Silicon Stocks
Tech Report
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Personal computer makers' stocks rose
Thursday, led by a rating upgrade to "buy" for Apple Computer and a
boosted price target for Hewlett-Packard. Chip stocks followed in line.
Apple Computer
(AAPL: news, msgs)
shares jumped 3 9/16 to
53 7/16 after
BancBoston Robertson
Stephens analysts Alex
Mou and Dan Niles
upped their rating on
Apple to "buy" from
"long-term attractive,"
with a price target of
$75 per share.
Mou and Niles also increased their profit estimates to $2.80 from $2.75 per
share for 1999 and to $3 from $2.86 per share in 2000. These figures
compare to the First Call consensus predictions of $2.78 and $2.88,
respectively.
The Robertson Stephens analysts said the PC giant is "well positioned" for
the fourth quarter and said its software package "should provide upside to
earnings and margins." The analysts added that Apple is expected to
release its Sonata software in the fall and the Mac OS X operating system
next year.
Hewlett-Packard (HWP: news, msgs) shares, meanwhile, rose 5 13/16, or
nearly 6 percent, to 105 1/8, after SG Cowen analyst Richard Chu upped his
price target on the company to $125 per share. The stock traded as high as
106 3/8, an all-time high.
The Goldman Sachs Computer Hardware Index advanced 2.4 percent.
"I think it's an Internet-oriented world and the beneficiaries are the
infrastructure vendors, and that continues. Frankly, I don't see anything on
the horizon that suggests that that's going to change," said Fred Cohen,
senior analyst at Daiwa Securities.
Cohen advised avoidance of "the pure PC stocks," such as Compaq and
Dell, and added that he views Apple as a "big winner." Cohen also said he
expects some positive surprises on the order side from IBM.
Shares of Compaq (CPQ: news, msgs) gained 1 1/16
to 26, Dell (DELL: news, msgs) was up 1 9/16 to 39
7/8, International Business Machines (IBM: news,
msgs) moved higher by 1 5/16 to 134 1/8 and
Gateway (GTW: news, msgs) crept up 1 1/4 to to 64
7/8.
Major chip and chip-related players moved higher
Thursday as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index
rose 2.8 percent.
Micron Technology (MU: news, msgs) was the
biggest advancer in the sector, with a 7.8 percent
gain. The stock was up 2 13/16 to 47 1/16 on volume
of 3.9 million shares.
Meanwhile, shares of chip titan Intel (INTC: news,
msgs) weren't helped much after the company said
in a statement Wednesday that it's entered into an
agreement to acquire privately held Softcom
Microsystems in an all-cash transaction. Financial
details of the deal weren't disclosed. Intel shares
rose 1 3/16 to 65 9/16.
Charlie Glavin, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said he thinks the
deal should close by the end of the year and should have a "positive impact
on Intel's top line in 2000."
Softcom makes semiconductor products for original equipment
manufacturers in the networking and communications industries.
Elsewhere, Altera (ALTR: news, msgs) shares climbed 1 13/16 to 45,
Novellus (NVLS: news, msgs) jumped 3 7/16 to 72 5/8 and Teradyne (TER:
news, msgs) was up 3 3/4 to 74.
Janet Haney is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch. |
